1,350 oil, gas wells reactivated after fatal northern Colorado blast

Anadarko Petroleum said it inspected and tested pipelines connected to the wells before returning them to service.

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Associated Press
A large pile of charred debris is seen as investigators work at the scene of a fire that killed two people and injured two others on the 6300 Block of Twilight Avenue in Firestone. More photos: TimesCall.com. Matthew Jonas/Staff Photographer April 27, 2017

A large pile of charred debris is seen as investigators work at the scene of a fire that killed two people and injured two others on the 6300 Block of Twilight Avenue in Firestone. More photos: TimesCall.com. Matthew Jonas/Staff Photographer April 27, 2017

An oil and gas company says it has reactivated more than 1,350 wells in northern Colorado that it shut down as a precaution last year after a fatal house explosion blamed on gas from a severed pipeline.

Anadarko Petroleum said Tuesday it inspected and tested pipelines connected to the wells before returning them to service.

The company shut down hundreds of wells after an April 2017 explosion killed two people in Firestone. Investigators said the explosion was caused by odorless, unrefined natural gas from a severed pipeline that was believed to be abandoned but was still connected to one of Anadarko’s operating wells.

Anadarko says it permanently shut down and plugged 600 wells after the explosion. About 1,050 more wells remain shut down while the company decides what to do with them.

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anadarko petroleum, gun rights, oil and gas, HUD, firestone home explosion, holidays, Firestone